A morphometric study on dog cerebellum

In healthy humans and patient with schizophrenia, studies investigating cerebellar asymmetries have been performed by using magnetic resonance images (MRIs), which have failed to demonstrate the presence of the left-right asymmetry. Due to the paucity of animal studies in this field, the present study was undertaken to investigate whether the dog cerebellum shows any pattern of volumetric asymmetry. A total of 16 adult mongrel dogs, 8 male and 8 female, were assessed with respect to pawedness. After the animals were anesthetized and killed by exsanguinations, the cerebellum was removed and divided into the anterior and the posterior lobes by a dissection passing into the fissure prima. The volumes of the right and left hemispheres were separately calculated by a volumetric device. The present study demonstrated significant volume asymmetries as to right-left, sex and pawedness in dog cerebellum. Morphological asymmetries in dog cerebellum might relate to cerebral specialization of function. Further studies need to be performed to demonstrate the relationship between cerebellar asymmetries and functional lateralization.